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Troubled waters: disputes in the China Seas

( Updated: 03/25/2014 )

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A protester holds up a banner during a rally against Japan's Takeshima Day in front of Japanese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 22, 2014. Japan's Shimane Prefecture will hold the annual 'Takeshima Day' ceremony, commemorating the Takeshima Islands, which are also under control of South Korea known as Dokdo in the country. The banner written in Korean read: 'Dokdo is our territory.' Ahn Young-joon/AP

A set of remote islands called Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese is seen in this picture taken from a helicopter carrying South Korean President Lee Myung-bak (not pictured), east of Seoul August 10, 2012. Lee visited the islands, angering neighbor Japan which also lays claims to the territory. South Korea controls the islands with a coast guard presence and plans to beef up maritime research. The Blue House/Reuters

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attends the opening session of the lower house of Parliament after delivering a speech calling for a dialogue between Japan and neighbors China and South Korea to improve stalled diplomatic relations in Tokyo, January 24, 2014. China said it has begun issuing warnings to foreign military planes entering its self-declared air defense zone over the East China Sea amid heightened tensions with its neighbors, especially Japan. Koji Sasahara/AP

A photograph provided by Japan's 11th Regional Coast Guard shows a hot-air balloon, in which the Coast Guard says a Chinese cook took a ride, in waters near the East China Sea islands called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China, January 1, 2013. Xu Shuaijun crashed into the water after hitting turbulence as he approached the islands claimed by both China and Japan and was rescued by Japan's Coast Guard. Japan's 11th Regional Coast Guard/AP

Chinese navy sailors are pictured manning their stations on China's first aircraft carrier Liaoning, as it travels towards a military base in Sanya, Hainan province, in this undated picture made available on November 30, 2013. China's sole aircraft carrier left the northern city of Qingdao, accompanied by two destroyers and two frigates, the Chinese navy said on an official news website. Ongoing tensions with the Philippines, Japan and other neighbors over disputed territories in East and South China Sea were heightened by China establishing a new airspace defense zone. Reuters

Chinese demonstrators raise their national flag while a police helicopter is flying over during a protest against Japan in Shenzhen, China Sept. 16, 2012. Protesters held demonstrations against Japan, after protests over disputed islands spread across numerous cities and at times turned violent. Apple Daily/AP

In this Sept. 2, 2012 file photo, the survey ship Koyo Maru (l.), chartered by Tokyo city officials, sails around Minamikojima (foreground) Kitakojima (center r.) and Uotsuri (background), the tiny islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese. Kyodo News/AP

Activists holding Chinese and Taiwanese flags are arrested by Japanese police officers after landing on Uotsuri Island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in the East China Sea on Aug. 15, 2012. Yomiuri Shimbun/AP

Taiwan Coast Guard personnel inspect the fishing boat on which Taiwanese activists took to the disputed East China Sea islets, called Senkaku in Japan, Diaoyu in China, and Tiaoyutai in Taiwan after it was ashore at the port of San-ao in New Taipei City, northern Taiwan, January 24, 2013. Pichi Chuang/Reuters

A Chinese flag and a satellite dish are prominently displayed in a structure built by China in one of the islands in the Spratlys, in the South China Sea, in this May 1995 photo. First came the diplomatic offensive, then the flexing of military muscle. Now, China is opening a third front to assert its claims in the South China Sea - moving ahead with its first major tender of oil and gas blocks in disputed parts of its waters. Reuters

A small boat is lowered from the survey ship Koyo Maru, chartered by Tokyo city officials, near Uotsuri (r.) one of the tiny islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, Sept. 2, 2012. Tokyo city officials, planning to buy the islands at the center of a longtime territorial dispute with China, surveyed the area on a visit meant to send a message of ownership. Kyodo News/AP

Tokyo city officials and experts on a small boat enter a cave on Uotsuri, one of the tiny islands in the East China Sea, called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, Sept. 2, 2012. Kyodo News/AP

A boat (c.) is surrounded by Japan Coast Guard patrol boats after some activists descended from the boat and landed on Uotsuri Island, one of the islands of Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, in the East China Sea, Aug. 15, 2012. Yomiuri Shimbun/AP

Filipino naval personnel look at giant clam shells on board a Chinese fishing vessel at the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, near the Philippines, April 10, 2012. The Philippine government said it agreed with China to diplomatically resolve a tense standoff involving a Philippine warship and two Chinese surveillance vessels in the disputed South China Sea when its navy tried to detain Chinese boats fishing in its waters, but was stopped by two Chinese surveillance craft. Philippine Navy/AP

Protesters chant anti-China slogans as they march towards the Chinese consulate in Manila's Makati financial district May 11, 2012. About 200 Filipino activists, carrying placards and banners and waving small Philippine flags, held a noisy but peaceful protest outside a Chinese consular office in Manila over Scarborough Shoal islands in the South China Sea claimed by both nations. Erik De Castro/Reuters

Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie inspects a Guard of Honor in New Delhi, India, Sept. 4, 2012. The defense ministers of India and China agreed to resume military exercises, signaling a thaw in military ties despite an ongoing dispute over Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. Manish Swarup/AP

A border guard stands on a small boat in front of a US naval ship, docked at Tien Sa port, in Vietnam's central Danang city July 15, 2011. In June 2011, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said the US would engage in joint naval activities with the Vietnamese, describing them as regular annual events. Tensions are high in the region over concern that China is becoming more assertive in its claim to disputed areas of the South China Sea believed to be rich in oil and gas. Kham/Reuters

As Japan's relations with China and Taiwan reach the lowest point in years, the country's main opposition party has elected a hawkish former prime minister to lead the party, positioning him to be the likely next premier.